What is the annual canvass?
The Electoral Registration Officer at the Council has a duty to carry out an annual canvass to maintain an up-to-date Register of Electors and to ensure that all individuals in a household who are eligible to vote are registered. This starts on 1 July each year. To do this, every residential property in Ipswich is contacted by email, telephone, letter, or form to obtain a response. Canvass communications are dispatched in stages, over several months from July through to November.
Watch our video explaining the canvass
The annual canvass period ends on 30 November each year, with a revised version of the electoral register being published by 1 December each year, containing updated information collected during the canvass.
What do I need to do?
It is a legal requirement for all households to respond if asked, including households with no eligible electors or those where individuals do not wish to use their vote. Responses can be made online, by telephone, or by text messaging – details and a security code can be found in the communication sent to you. If these digital methods cannot be accessed, you can post back a response.
If a response is not received by the given return date, another communication will be sent to remind you. If a response is still not received, canvassers will make door-to-door visits or telephone calls to collect a response.
Please help us reduce the number of printed forms sent out by responding to the first communication as early as possible.
Please note: The canvass communications you respond to are not registration-to-vote forms. Once we know who is eligible to register to vote, a form called an Invitation to Register (ITR) will be sent to all individuals who are not currently registered. The ITR asks for details including date of birth, nationality, and National Insurance number. It is quicker to provide this information online at GOV.UK rather than wait for the form.
E-canvass - July
We will email electors who we have email addresses for with details on how to respond to the annual canvass. The email will be sent from elections@ipswich.gov.uk.
If we hold an email address for more than one person in the property, each individual will receive an email, but only one response is needed if updates are required.
Follow the instructions in the email to update and report changes to your household.
Respond online as soon as possible to avoid receiving a paper reminder.
Please be assured that this email is genuine. If you are unsure, please contact electoral services.
Here is an example of what the email will look like:
Canvass letter - August
If we do not hold an email address for you or if you haven’t responded to the email, a canvass letter will be posted to you with further steps.
The form will contain details of all those in the household who are registered to vote. Where a property has no registered electors, the form will be blank.
The easiest way to respond is by using the online response form, following the instructions on your letter. If this method cannot be accessed, you can post back a response.
Canvass form - September
If you haven’t responded to the canvass letter sent in August, a canvass form will be posted to you explaining that you must respond and how to respond.
The form will contain details of all those in the household who are registered to vote. Where a property has no registered electors, the form will be blank.
The easiest way to respond is by using the online response form, following the instructions on your letter. If this method cannot be accessed, you can post back a response.
Canvasser visit – October and November
If there is still no response from your property, a canvasser (a person employed by the Council) will visit your property to obtain the information we have requested. A canvasser will call up to three times, any day Monday to Sunday, between 8 AM and 8 PM and will carry a photo ID card with a unique number and a telephone number that can be called to check their identity. The canvasser will ask you to confirm the names, dates of birth, and nationalities of household members and will never ask for any financial or bank details. The canvasser will never ask to enter your property.